DC KinCare Alliance

Our goals are: (1) to provide free legal representation to relative caregivers to secure their rights to raise at-risk DC children, get them medical care, and obtain the financial benefits to which they are entitled; and (2) to advocate for access to benefits and services as well as additional and fulsome supports for relatives raising these children.

DC KinCare Alliance is the only organization in DC focused solely on serving relative caregivers raising DC’s at-risk children. DC KinCare Alliance’s unique and innovative approach to helping relative caregivers and the at-risk DC children they raise combines support/educational services with legal an advocacy services. No other organization in the country combines both support services and legal/advocacy services together as one solution for relative caregivers. Providing these types of services is the lynchpin for change because education and support can only go so far in certain instances, and providing legal representation and advocacy may be the only avenues to ensure legal rights are protected and enhanced.
DC KinCare Alliance attorneys provide free legal representation to relative caregivers in court as well as free brief legal advice in their communities. This includes representing relatives in custody and other related court cases, assisting relatives with obtaining Custodial Powers of Attorney, and helping with identifying and applying for financial benefits. We also provide free legal advice via our local legal helpline and our weekly walk-in clinic in DC Family Court.
In addition to direct legal help, we conduct Caregiver Raise Me Up Groups at our community partner locations, such as A Wider Circle, THEARCH, and Community of Hope in Southeast DC (Ward 8), and Plaza West Grandfamilies Housing in the Mount Vernon Triangle Neighborhood. At these Groups, we provide information to relative caregivers, families, and their caseworkers about legal and financial rights and options available when raising a DC child. We also distribute our DC Relative Caregiver Resource Guide that provides comprehensive information in a simple and straight-forward format on both the financial and legal rights and responsibilities of relative caregivers raising DC children. This Guide is available in hard copy as well as online, as many relative caregivers do not have access to the internet or know how to use it. We also widely distribute these Guides in community settings, including DC public housing projects, public libraries, community providers, and the courts.
Finally, we advocate for access to and enhances benefits and services through filing impact litigation, advocating with government policy-makers, and testifying before the DC City Council.

We are lawyers with expertise in family law and a wealth of experience in the legal and practical issues facing relative caregivers raising DC's at-risk children in times of crisis. Other organization as well as government decision-makers look to us for advice and guidance in this area.

in 2019, DC KinCare Alliance met its goal of helping 200 relative caregivers raising more than 200 at-risk DC children. We also proposed legislation to expand eligibility for the DC Grandparent Caregiver Program subsidy to other close relatives, as not all relative caregivers are grandparents. The legislation was approved by the DC Council unanimously, and is now available to close relative caregivers. We are currently assisting close relatives in completing the applications to obtain these benefits. Further, in response to increased ICE raids in DC, in the Summer of 2019 we proposed that the Standby Guardianship Act of 2002 be amended to make deportation or other adverse immigration action a “triggering event.” This would allow a parent to designate a standby guardian for a child, not only when s/he anticipates death or incapacity due to illness (triggering events under the 2002 law), but also if s/he anticipates detention or deportation. This amendment allows a parent to safety plan for his or her child in advance of deportation. This is significant because when an ICE raid occurs, there is no time to make these plans. The amendment was enacted unanimously by the DC Council this fall. We are working with the DC Bar Pro Bono Program to update the court forms necessary for families to make standby guardianship designations under the amended law. Finally, this year we worked with the Children’s Law Center to help guide the introduction of a new law to establish an independent Office of Ombudsperson for Child Safety and Well-Being to oversee the operations of the DC Child and Family Services Agency and ensure accountability to the children and families it is tasked to protect.